HOLYOKE — “From trees to knees, stop lynching me!” protesters shouted Tuesday in front of the police station on Appleton Street, before taking a knee for a moment of silence.
“Hands up, don’t shoot,” they chanted earlier in the day as they marched from City Hall down High Street, holding signs saying “I can’t breathe,” “Justice for George,” “Your fight es mi lucha,” and “Defund the police.”
Over 1,000 protesters wearing face coverings filled the streets of downtown Holyoke starting in the late afternoon Tuesday, joining people around the nation speaking out against police violence and racism after the death of George Floyd, a black man from Minneapolis who died after a white police officer pinned him to the ground by kneeling on his neck May 25.
Holyoke’s march was organized by a group called 413 Boricuas, who are “members of the Holyoke and Springfield community, coming together to help our new community members who have arrived from Puerto Rico,” according to their Facebook page. They organized the demonstration, part protest and part vigil that ended up at the police station, in remembrance of Floyd and “the many many others that have lost their lives to white supremacy and police brutality.”
“We want to be heard,” one of the organizers, Stephany Marryshow, told the crowd before the march as they stood in front of City Hall. “We’re going to keep this peaceful.”
The rally came on the heels of Monday’s protest in Northampton, during which protesters swarmed the city’s police station, leading to a standoff between them and officers.
In Holyoke, Mayor Alex Morse was present at the march, along with Police Chief Manny Febo.
Before the march started, Febo walked up to one of the organizers and told her, “We’re absolutely with you,” handing her several boxes of face masks. He supports the march “100%,” he told the Gazette. “I was upset as anyone … It really set us back.”
Morse also wanted to show up for support, he said: “I think it’s important for me as mayor to show solidarity with the people of our city.”
But some speakers advised protesters to watch for follow-through. “Just because someone walks with us today and they talk a good talk doesn’t mean their follow-up actions will match,” protester Simbrit Paskins, who teaches ethnic studies at Holyoke High School, told the crowd.
“Black people and brown people, we are not OK — we are in a state of emergency, and that is why we are here today,” she said.
Before the march in Holyoke, the organizers posted on Facebook asking people to wear masks, bring hand sanitizer and stay 6 feet away from others, remaining on sidewalks at all times for collective safety.
“We’re not just fighting COVID,” protester Erika Slocumb of Springfield said to the crowd during the rally. “We’re fighting the murder, the violence, of our bodies.”
Greta Jochem can be reached at gjochem@gazettenet.com.